| The Doraemons | |
The Doraemons as depicted in the manga series. In clockwise direction, from bottom left: Dora-nichov, Wang Dora, Dora-med III, Dora-the-Kid, Dora-rinho, El Matadora. In the middle: Doraemon. | |
| ザ・ドラえもんズ (Za Doraemonzu) | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Fujiko F. Fujio |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Michiaki Tanaka |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | Kim Dong Publishing House (Vietnam) |
| Magazine | CoroCoro Comic Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic |
| Original run | December 16, 1995 – March 28, 2001 |
| Volumes | 6 |
| Manga | |
| The Doraemons Special | |
| Written by | Masaru Miyazaki |
| Illustrated by | Yukihiro Mitani |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | Kim Dong Publishing House (Vietnam) |
| Magazine | Shōgaku Go Nensei Shōgaku Roku Nensei |
| Original run | December 16, 1996 – September 28, 2002 |
| Volumes | 12 |
| Manga | |
| The Doraemons Special: Robot Training School | |
| Written by | Yukihiro Mitani |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | Kim Dong Publishing House (Vietnam) |
| Magazine | Shōgaku Yon Nensei |
| Original run | May 28, 1999 – January 28, 2003 |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Related works | |
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The Doraemons (ザ・ドラえもんズ, Za Doraemonzu) is a Japanese manga series that is a spin-off of the long-running Doraemon series.
The subseries includes two versions of the manga by Michiaki Tanaka (田中 道明, Tanaka Michiaki) and Yukihiro Mitani (三谷 幸広, Mitani Yukihiro) from 1995 to 2003, as well as a series of animated short films from 1996 to 2002.
The Doraemons, or Dora Dora Seven DD7, is an old boys' association of the Robot School (ロボット学校, Robotto Gakkō) that Doraemon attended. All of the seven male members are cat-like robots of the same type; they enjoy dorayaki, but usually add their own seasoning. They have rock-hard heads that they can use as a weapon or to break things. Doraemon has an especially hard head, since he has no other special weapons, and has no ears or hat to get in the way when using this mode of attack. The gadget that can connect them is the Friendship Telecard. It takes the form of a telephone card, where they can call each other with the card from anywhere when one of them is in need.
The subseries originated from a video game released in 1995, which featured the six characters that had previously appeared in the 1995 short film 2112: The Birth of Doraemon. The original author of the Doraemon series, Fujiko F. Fujio, agrees with the existence of the spin-off series and adds the settings from the series to the original series, even though the settings would not appear in any of the original manga and anime series.
The Doraemons are the main characters of the series. They are a group of seven robotic cats based on Doraemon, each with their own nationalities and personalities. One or more of them has played a prominent role in several manga volumes as well as the anime short films.
There has been a significant number of characters that play as supporting roles in The Doraemons. Several characters in this list includes characters from the mainline Doraemon series, antagonists, and significant real and famous figures. In the manga, cultural connection and historical legitimacy are highly noticed.
Three versions of The Doraemons manga were released from 1995 to 2003.
The Doraemons (main): The original main series of The Doraemons, created by Michiaki Tanaka (田中 道明, Tanaka Michiaki), who was also the character and story designer of the 1995 3DO game. It follows on the life and adventures of the Doraemons, with some chapters adapting the short film anime stories. It ran from December 1995 to March 2001 with six volumes.
The Doraemons Special (ザ☆ドラえもんズ スペシャル, Za Doraemonzu Supesharu): A spin-off of The Doraemons manga series, written by Masaru Miyazaki and illustrated by Yukihiro Mitani. It has a similar premise to the original The Doraemons, albeit with a much darker, more serious and dramatic tone. This action-oriented spin-off focuses on Nobita Nobi's adventures with the Doraemons, and involves many fictional (such as Arsene Lupin, Pinocchio, etc...) and real-life historical figures (Cleopatra, Nostradamus, etc...), as well as events that have happened in real life. This series ran from December 1996 to September 2002 with twelve volumes released.
The Doraemons Special: Robot Training School: A spin-off of The Doraemons manga series created by Yukihiro Mitani, focusing on The Doraemons' past journeys in the Robot School. It is part of The Doraemons Special spin-off series, and ran from May 1999 to January 2003 with three volumes.[citation needed]
The Doraemons characters first made their debut in animated form in the 1995 short film 2112: The Birth of Doraemon. From 1996 to 2002, The Doraemons characters appeared in several short films released alongside the mainline theatrical feature films, with two short films starring Dorami alongside the Doraemons released for the subseries.[citation needed]
The Doraemons characters from the 1995 short film have also appeared in the 1995 Japan-only Doraemon video game Doraemon Yūjō Densetsu (ドラえもん友情伝説, Doraemon Friendship Legends) for the 3DO, which was released one month after the short film on April 7, 1995.